It can happen in a fraction of a second. A routine departure on a warm spring morning with everything pretty much going to plan. Traffic was lighter then normal as I made my way out of the city. I remember thinking how things had been going too smooth and was mentally preparing myself for something to go wrong. I settled down into my seat and reached down for my coffee when suddenly a vehicle pulled in front of my truck cutting across from the on-coming lanes. My VORAD (Vehicle On Board Radar) device instantly activated and made an emergency brake application applying the brakes hard causing my unexpected body to lunge forward hard into my seatbelt . I raised my head and looked ahead to see the front of my truck nearly miss the on-coming vehicle by only a fee inches. The driver was attempting to pull into a popular coffee shop (and was obviously in a hurry) made a last second dangerous decision (rather than waiting for traffic to clear or going around the block) decided to risk their life by pulling in front of my truck to get into the drive through line quicker.

People tend to make irrational driving decisions when not given enough time to evaluate the situation and consequences of their actions.

The more time a driver has to make a driving decision the better chance they have of making a safe decision.

Reaction Time: Noun The length of time taken for a person or system to respond to a given stimulus or event.

Many simple things we do while driving can effect our ability to react in a timely manner. Drinking or eating, changing a radio station or even just enjoying the scenery can distract a driver enough to change a five to six second reaction time to a one to two second time. Not enough time to evaluate the situation and act. If a driver does make a correct decision in an absolute minimal amount of time, they were probably just lucky.

In my situation, it was a combination of the other driver and myself making poor decisions. With me it was my mistake to be attempting to have my coffee while driving in a high traffic volume area, and even though traffic was lighter then usual, there was still enough going on around my vehicle where I should of left the coffee alone until I was in a less hectic area. My bad call along with an anxious coffee customer almost caused a collision that was only avoided by my trucks VORAD (Vehicle On Board Radar) device taking over and applying a hard brake application stopping my truck in time.

Managing our distractions and choosing to not be distracted in high volume intense traffic areas is ultimately the best way to maximize our reaction time and get through safely. And when the situation becomes less intense and more manageable, maybe then it’ll be ok to taste the coffee.

(A paid occupation, especially one that involves prolong training and a formal qualification).

Is driving a job or a profession. I guess it depends on who you ask.

Over the years I have met many different drivers and no matter what type of vehicle they drove, many had pride and performed their duties in a professional manner, and some just treated it like an effortless job.

Understanding that rules and regulations have been put in place to ensure the safety of everyone involved, and that following these rules and regulations is an important part of being a professional driver (is a good place to begin).

People who do not take their job seriously usually lack any respect and quite often avoid following any rules and regulations and find themselves getting into trouble much more often. These people in no way should ever consider themselves a professional driver, yet many of them still do.

Any profession requires plenty of training and retraining to ensure the person has the knowledge to perform their duties in the best possible way, and are always up to date on new policies and procedures.

I once did a pre-hire road test with a driver who performed one of the best and most complete pre-trip vehicle inspection I had ever seen. Upon completion I congratulated the driver on the very impressive vehicle inspection. He seemed a little confused and stated “ but sir, I have only done what my profession requires me to do”. At no time did he ever think that he did something special. He just did what he was supposed to do. Perhaps witnessing so many unprofessional drivers struggle and fail to complete a proper PTVI (yet still think they did a great job) made this man (who truly has respect for his profession) stand out. He added that creating a routine and following it everyday helped ensure he completed his inspection in a timely manner and did not miss any components was an important factor.

It doesn’t matter what type of vehicle you drive, being in the right frame of mind will definitely help you to succeed in the industry achieving safe driving milestones and always getting home to your family at the end of your duties.

Be proud of your profession. When someone asks you what you do for a living. Say with pride “ I’m a professional driver”.

I don’t care if you drive long haul or a garbage truck, each has a place in our industry and a requirement by our society, and should always be performed with the upmost respect and professionalism .